Who’ll make top four?

With less than two weeks left in the Premier League, two Champions League spots remain up for grabs – and four teams are still in contention to get them.

Arsenal are front-runners in the race to join champions Leicester and likely runners-up Tottenham and are all but assured of their place in the top four already.

Manchester City – whose Champions League exit ensured the Premier League’s fourth-placed side would qualify for the play-off round – are in pursuit and would take a big step towards claiming the other space with a win over Arsene Wenger’s side this Sunday.

But if those teams draw, that could give both Manchester United and West Ham – currently sitting fifth and sixth – an opportunity to close in and make it an even tighter contest than it already is.

So who will make it? Here we weigh up various factors which could determine who plays among Europe’s elite next season…

Remaining fixtures

It is far from certain that Arsenal and City will stay in the positions they currently occupy because United and West Ham both have an extra game to play.

Granted, it is against each other, but if either wins, it could give the victor a genuine chance to push for third and an automatic Champions League group place.

If the forthcoming game at the Etihad ends in a draw, the prospect of that happening will only increase should United and West Ham also win their respective games with Norwich and Swansea.

After that match against each other on Tuesday – the last competitive fixture at Upton Park – United host Bournemouth and West Ham visit out-of-sorts Stoke.

Arsenal finish with a very winnable game at home to Aston Villa, meaning a negative result in Manchester before then should not be too damaging.

City, meanwhile, end their campaign at Swansea who – much like Bournemouth and Stoke – are another side assured of a mid-table finish who have little left to play for.

Form

Some fans might not be happy with how things have gone at Arsenal but they have at least made a decent recovery after the collapse that ruled them out of Premier League …

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